The Golden Year
January 30th, 2021…
Now, you likely saw the year “2021” and snarled your nose or rolled your eyes after making it through 2020… Only to still be sitting in a global pandemic.
For me, though, my smile was wide.
That was the eve before I turned 30 - an age most anxiously approach, though I was beaming with excitement.
“I’m going to make 30 my best year yet!” Or so I imagined…
Fast forward a month in and sciatic pain slowly surfaced, quickly pushing my physical goals away. Once upon a time, when I was extremely inactive and dare I say “lazy”, I might’ve rolled it off my shoulders. (I’m looking at you teenage Syd who slept till the late hours of the afternoon…)
But fitness eventually came a large part of my life - so much so I ran the St. Jude Marathon, which would likely shock my grade school PE teachers.
After seeking answers in hopes to remedy the issue, I was constantly let down without any relief in sight. My body felt like it was turning against me, which left my mind eventually wanting to do the same.
At a surface level, I started to see the year “2021” and wanted to snarl my nose and roll my eyes. But as I truly reflect on the past year, almost a week before turning 31, I can’t help but still smile wide and be grateful for the memories and life lessons 30 brought me.
1. For starters, I truly believe I have the best family in the entire world - selfless, thoughtful, giving… I could go on and on. Perhaps the major highlight was getting to share the title of Maid of Honor with my sweet niece for my twin’s/best friend’s wedding day.
2. My tight circle of best friends is also a constant that fulfills my life even more. Like my family, they’ve helped to keep me sane while uplifting my spirits when I didn’t even know I needed it the most.
3. Ohh… And I finally got a new car after patiently waiting for what seemed to be like decades. I don’t share this to boast because what I actually realized was that even though my new whip is dreamy, my excitement really isn’t so much about the car itself…
Instead, it’s about having a reliable ride to go clear my head and take my pup for a ride on those blistering cold days when walks are a hard no. Better yet, it’s about having the opportunity to share conversations and memories with the ones I love most no matter how long the road trip is.
Really, life’s a hypothetical, never-ending road with twists, turns, splits, and bumps - they’re quite inevitable. But I realize while not all road conditions are in my control, my happiness is and it can be in yours as well.
As I approach my golden birthday, I’m determined to make it just that - golden, even if that means trying to find the silver lining in darker moments. Since we aren’t promised another birthday, tomorrow, or even the next minute on the clock, we should all strive to make the time we do have matter.
My hope for Happy Lappe is to not only spread happiness but for others to feel encouraged to do the same - much like one of my favorite quotes I heard on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, “The only true measure of a successful person is how they make the people around them feel.”
So, what lights you up even when the world around you seems dark? Whether with a story, video, or even meme/gif, share your happiness below and let’s make others feel it, too!